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A mother diagnosed with breast cancer has thanked a stranger for a kind-hearted act as she enjoyed a meal with her family.

Jerina Edwards, from Oklahoma, had just finished a Chinese meal when the waitress brought over a note from another diner instead of the bill.

“We went out to eat last night at a little Chinese place after church,” she explained on Facebook. “Right as we were getting ready to ask for our ticket the waitress brought us this.”

The diner offered to pick up the bill as an early Christmas present to Ms Edwards and her family, explaining how he had lost his wife to cancer.

The note said: “I lost my wife to cancer five years ago. I know how tough it can be going through this. Your meal is on me. Merry Christmas.”

Ms Edwards, a respiratory therapist, added that her cancer battle had shown her that there are “a lot of good people in this world”, adding: “I am grateful my own family won't be leaving notes like this for others.”

Jerina Edwards and her family Credit:
Jerina Edwards

She continued: “It has been hard, I have fought, I have been sick, tears have been shed, I have missed out on things, I have lost my hair, and I will lose my breast, but I will live. I WILL LIVE.

“My parents will still have their daughter, my husband will still have his wife, my children will still have their mother. Whoever you are - thank you.”

“I'm only halfway through my own treatment and I have already had my eyes opened to how important it is to reach out to people and just LOVE them,” she explained.

“You meet people each day that you don't realise are hurting and struggling and you can make such a difference with a phone call, a card, or a visit.

“We've have been showered with love by people - many of whom we don't even know - and this is just one example of it. There is so much good in this world. I will spend the rest of my life paying it forward & am so grateful.”